The Real Hero
by S9Starbuck
Summary: Bryce's last thoughts right before his death. It's been in my head for awhile and so I decided to actually write it and see what you guys thought. Even Bryce haters may like this, so please read and review.


**So I've had this idea for a few weeks and decided to actually get it out. If you hate Bryce (Which most of you do) I ask you to give this a shot anyways, who knows you just might like it :-) Also thanks to Wepdiggy for his awesome beta work as usual and I hope you enjoy this little fic o' mine. **

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It's cold. Really cold. I never imagined it would be like this, as my vision began to blur and my fingers began to go numb. The cold tile and my inability to rise from it serves as a reminder that for once in my life; I can't get out of this one. I'm completely powerless.

The bullet hole in my side is causing me a lot of pain, so much that I can't move. I place my hand over the wound and can feel the blood seeping through my shirt and jacket. _Damn. _I can't believe I didn't see that coming, see that guard turning out to be part of the Ring. I had been distracted by how I felt, seeing Sarah had once again chosen Chuck over me. She was ready to drop everything she'd known for him; that was something she wouldn't have ever done for me. But I care for them both and hope they are happy.

Of course, if I can't get to that computer, then all Hell's going to break loose. The Ring will gain so much control and they'll all be in danger.

I can't believe that after all I've been through, even _death _itself; I am stopped by one bullet.

But suddenly, I hear noise from the ceiling. I'd lift my gun, but all my strength is gone. My eyes flutter closed for a moment before I realize what I'm doing and open them to find Chuck, sprawled out on the floor.

"Hi, Chuck." I say breathlessly. Chuck looks at me and quickly stands.

"Hey…Bryce – Bryce, uh, Casey and Sarah are pinned down outside!"

I sigh. I have to help them. They could die; I have to try to get the hell up. "I'm on it," I say and start to move forward, but am forced to stop and return to my original position. I move my hand to look at my wound, exposing the bloody mess to Chuck's eyes.

"Oh my god," Chuck begins, crouching down beside me. "Oh my god, you've been shot!"

Always stating the obvious, Chuck_. _"Yeah," I say, letting out a pained grunt. I won't be able to help; Casey and Sarah are on their own. "I'm – I'm really sorry about this, Chuck." Honestly, that doesn't even cover how sorry I really am.

"No – No it's okay! It's okay, you're gonna be fine, it's not that bad!" Chuck's always so reassuring, but I know this is the end. My thoughts go to Sarah; I won't be around to help protect her anymore, I won't have her back when she needs me. That'll be Chuck's job now.

"Take care of her." I don't even have to say who.

"Don't – Don't say that! You're not dying!" Chuck exclaims. "She needs you, man, okay? You – you guys are going to go on missions together, and – and do exciting things, and save the world. You're gonna be a team again, it'll be great." I found myself shaking my head, trying to gently tell him that no, we weren't going to be any of those things. Even if I weren't bleeding and dying right on this floor, she was going to stay, she wasn't willing to leave him.

"She wasn't going to come," I say and watch Chuck's face turn into surprise and I realize she hadn't told him yet; she must not have gotten the chance. He deserves to know, with things going the way they are, if I don't tell him he might not ever find out. "She wasn" – and then the pain hits, cutting me off mid-sentence.

"Hold on," Chuck repeats over and over. I realize with this next round of pain that the end was about to come for me, and it reminds me of why I'm even in this room. My hand goes to my coat pocket and I pull out our last hope in keeping the Intersect from falling into the Ring's hands.

"This is to destroy the Intersect," I explain. "This new computer is too powerful, it's too dangerous." Chuck takes the offered card.

"Oh, but you need the computer to fight FULCRUM," Chuck says and I shake my heavy head, my eyes closing for a moment.

"FULCRUM doesn't matter, all right? They're just" –another stab of pain, this one lasts longer – "one part of the Ring. They'll use it against us, Chuck…" Suddenly I'm breathless. "You have to do it, you have to destroy that computer….and then get outta here." I can feel the fingers of death wrapping themselves around me now…just a few more moments.

"But you could beat 'em," I hear Chuck say. What Chuck doesn't realize is…Chuck is more than I am. In the end, he'll be ten times the person I ever was. He has a family that loves him (I haven't seen my mother and father or Penelope for years); he has enough friends to fill up the Buy More where I only have one, and he has what I've always wanted….Sarah. He and Sarah will do great things together; they'll be able to live out a normal life, start a family, help out their community and everyone will love them. They'll get the nice suburb house with the picket fence and the golden retriever barking at the door. Chuck will get that dream job he's always wanted and Sarah will be happy. Because that's always what I wanted…the people I care about happy. They'll get that.

Unless…Chuck uploads the new Intersect. Then they won't get that future for years to come. Chuck will be forced to involve himself even more in the CIA, Sarah won't begin a relationship with him just yet, and Chuck might just have to leave behind his family for good. He'll gain new and dangerous abilities that can surpass even Sarah and Casey and he'll know all this, or most of it…and still upload it anyways. I always said Chuck couldn't survive in the field. I know I was wrong. Chuck's the hero agent saving the day even if he thinks it's me. He'll learn one day who's been the hero all along.

Him.

I exhale, knowing it will be my last breath on this earth. I hope there's an afterlife, something for me to go to. Again I find myself thinking of Sarah, her and Chuck were the only two people in the world I've been able to trust. Sure, I doubted Sarah once, right after FULCRUM approached me about the Intersect, but I didn't know if she was a part of their organization. The thought she might be had shaken me to my core.

But this is the end for me. Chuck and Sarah get to live; Chuck will upload the new Intersect even though he hasn't been asked, even though he'll have to make great sacrifices for this country, even though, at some point, he might just have to leave this life of his in Burbank behind. Because Chuck is a good person, and he always does the right thing.

That's what makes him a real hero. Not the body, or the skills, or the James Bond air. In the end, the people that do what's right are the people who are the winners, the true heroes. The people that others want to be like.

I've always wanted to be like Chuck.

That was my last thought before my vision turned white.

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**So, you know what I love more than almost anything? Reviews. They're one of my favorite things. So, please review, even if its simply "Good Job". Thanks for reading! **


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